10,000 Small Businesses
Initiative Makes Big Impact
C
ommunity colleges are key partners in the Goldman
Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, a national,
multiyear investment to help small businesses create jobs
and economic opportunity by providing entrepreneurs
with greater access to business education, financial capital,
and business support services. The American Association
of Community Colleges (AACC) actively promotes this initiative as a
growth strategy for small businesses and communities.
“The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small
Businesses initiative has, in a very short
time, infused a dynamic energy that
engages community colleges and small
business owners in key communities
around the nation,” said AACC President
and CEO Walter G. Bumphus. “These in-
novative models will ultimately benefit
both communities and the nation.”
The initiative is implemented locally
by community colleges, Community
Development Financial Institutions, and
community organizations, and is cur-
rently operating in Chicago, Houston,
Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans,
and New York. College partners in these
cities are the City Colleges of Chicago,
Houston Community College, Long
Beach Community College District, Los
Angeles City College, Delgado Commu-
nity College, and LaGuardia Community
College, respectively. By year’s end,
more than 500 businesses will have ben-
efited from the program, and significant
job growth already has been achieved.
“”These innovative models will ultimately benefit both communities and the nation. —Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO, American Association of Community Colleges
preneur, and Goldman Sachs 10,000
Small Businesses has given me the confidence to make that a reality,” said Rivera.
“Having the opportunity to interact with
other small-business owners has been
refreshing.” In six months since joining
10,000 Small Businesses at Delgado Community College, Colmex Construction’s
revenues have exceeded the total of the
previous three years’; revenues in the
first quarter of 2011 alone have already
surpassed 2010 total revenues. The company has also secured five new contracts
and filled new positions.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses participants embody the diversity
and potential of American small businesses, representing a broad range of
industries, business types, and sizes. The
initiative is designed for business owners with limited resources who have a
business poised for growth; it is free to
accepted business owners.
Participants benefit from approximately 100 hours of business education;
an additional six to eight hours a week
of business support services, including
technical assistance, one-on-one business
advising, and business clinics; and expert
business growth advice.
Applicants must own or co-own a busi-
ness and demonstrate a commitment to
growth and creating jobs within their
community. Businesses targeted include,
but are not limited to:
• Businesses in operation for at least
two years
• Businesses with revenues between
$150,000 and $4 million in the most
recent fiscal year
Learn more about how the 10,000
Small Businesses initiative is spurring
economic recovery—and find out how
entrepreneurs in participating cities can
apply—by visiting www2.goldmansachs.
com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/
index.html.
